Duffer Brothers face backlash as fans reject their ‘Stranger Things’ finale explanation

The Duffer Brothers are facing fresh backlash after revealing that an alternative three-hour finale for Stranger Things was never actually written, despite being repeatedly referenced in interviews.

Following the release of the show’s final episode, fans quickly noticed the absence of demogorgons, demodogs and demobats in the climactic showdown against Vecna. The omission sparked widespread debate online, with many questioning why the franchise’s most iconic creatures were missing from the ultimate battle.

Now, the creators have attempted to explain that decision.

In an interview, Matt Duffer said the lack of demogorgons was intentional, suggesting Vecna was caught off guard by the group’s surprise attack.

“Mainly it’s just that Vecna was not expecting this sneak attack on his home turf. Never in a million years could he even imagine that,” he said.

He added that the creatures were still present somewhere in the Upside Down, but were not needed in the final confrontation.

“They are there somewhere,” Matt said. “We obviously discussed having a demo battle on top of the Mind Flayer battle, but it felt more right to us that why does he need the demos when the Mind Flayer is this giant thing and can attack them? He doesn’t need his little ant army. He is going to take care of this himself.”

Matt also attempted to justify the absence by explaining the geography of the Upside Down.

“It’s a giant, desolate planet. If you recall, you see Henry wandering the planet back in season four and at some point in his journey, he does see a demo far in the distance. But it’s not like they are hanging out in little huts. There is not like a giant civilisation of demos up there.”

However, it was another revelation from the interview that truly set fans off.

The brothers admitted they had once considered a much longer finale featuring a sequence with a massive field of demogorgon eggs, inspired by Alien. But that version of the ending was never actually written.

“We did at some point have that they were going to come across a giant field of demo eggs in kind of an Aliens thing,” Matt said. “But you can’t get all your ideas in there.”

Ross Duffer then added: “Yeah, that’s in the three-hour version of the finale, which was never written.”

How did they know it was three hours if they never wrote it?

The D Bros just need to stop talking. https://t.co/ECIydHLlnE

— Jake Franklin (@jake_theviking) January 11, 2026

That admission has not gone down well with viewers.

I also have a 250 page novel that I’ve never written. https://t.co/50Yh8zvaKz

— Kevin Dombrowski (@KevinDombrowski) January 12, 2026

Others criticised the idea of “demo fatigue”, suggesting the show had lost touch with what made it compelling in the first place.

they dropped a cool idea for a lameass finale because of ‘demo fatigue’ ??? its as if they are allergic to good writing this is ridiculous https://t.co/ZpIjpMFhmT

— sʍǝu ɹǝlʎq (@bylernews) January 11, 2026

While Stranger Things remains one of Netflix’s biggest ever hits, the final season has divided fans, with many now questioning whether the creators’ explanations are helping or hurting the show’s legacy.